At the UN General Assembly in New York, the Democratic Republic of the Congo President Félix Tshisekedi highlighted the measures put in place by African nations to combat the deadly coronavirus – but stressed that the continent cannot overcome the disease alone. Instead, Tshisekedi insisted it will require dedicated support…
Access to water has long been recognized as a basic human right, but the ways in which women and girls bear the brunt of water scarcity is often overlooked by those who seek to address the issue. Now, climate change and coronavirus are combining forces to wreak havoc on African…
A consortium of tobacco companies has taken the South African government to court in a bid to overturn the administration’s decision to ban the sale of alcohol and tobacco products during the Covid-19 pandemic. Japan Tobacco International (JPI) and British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA), together with The South Africa…
Senegal’s capital Dakar is facing yet another water shortage, though this time concerns have been exacerbated by the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic and the greater need for personal hygiene. “How do you wash your hands during a coronavirus crisis when the heat is coming?” Papa Mbodj, the father of a 9-month-old…
By Arman Sidhu After suffering its first economic contraction in nearly 45 years, China finds itself facing a deluge of economic threats, many of which stem from criticism of Beijing’s handling and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From alternative supply chains, to new policy measures designed to screen Chinese foreign…
By Dr. Jemimah Njuki A man and a woman are heading to a flood plain in Zambia. They part ways upon arrival: he disappears on a boat to go fishing, and she makes her way to collect firewood to fry fish by the roadside. He will earn much higher wages…
As the United Nations Human Rights Council holds its annual meeting in Geneva, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet of OHCHR, the UN human rights agency, provided an overview on Thursday of concerns in various African nations beginning with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Bachelet, a former president of Chile who was…
France plans to send additional troops to the Sahel and appealed for more international support for counterterrorism efforts, following a summit in the French city of Pau attended by leaders of the G5 Sahel nations on Monday. President Emmanuel Macron said 220 soldiers will reinforce the 4,500 Operation Barkhane troops…
In the West African nation of Guinea Bissau, incumbent President José Mário Vaz has lost this week’s presidential election, according to provisional results released Wednesday by the country’s National Election Commission. The results show that Domingos Simões Pereira , the African Independence Party of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) candidate, came…
The Global Coalition Against ISIS, meeting in the United States, said its focus is shifting to West Africa now that Islamic State – according to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – has been “defeated” in Syria and Iraq. “We agreed at the working level that West Africa and the…
Most African nations adhere to the “One China” policy of Beijing and are careful to avoid offense when the policy comes into diplomatic question. The South African kingdom of eSwatini, for example, is the only nation on the continent that maintains its diplomatic ties with Taiwan; the Dalai Lama of…
The timing of Johann van Loggerenberg’s new book, Tobacco Wars, could scarcely have been more apt. Just a couple of weeks after South Africa’s former crime-buster published a brutal exposé of the cigarette industry, Zimbabwean tobacco kingpin Simon Rudland was shot at nine times in an apparent assassination attempt. Rudland,…
Arnaud is a French freelance writer with an African heart who has lived in 10 different Sub-Saharan countries in the past decade. He is currently based in Paris.
The heightened rhetoric following Saturday’s attack on Saudi Aramco oil infrastructure seemed more heat than light, as the United States accused Iran of being responsible – which Iran denies – and threatened retaliation in keeping with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s wishes. It’s still uncertain how much structural damage was…
While there are new reasons to be optimistic about the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the progress remains uneven as Congolese officials and the international community respond to one of the most complex scenarios that anyone could have envisioned when the first case appeared more than a…
Africa has made some great strides in reducing HIV infection rates and their impacts, but the trends are uneven on the continent and across the globe. That’s worrying as progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS has slowed, according to an annual report from UNAIDS. “We urgently need increased political leadership…